By Dave Andrusko

It was a small item at CBN News which got me looking elsewhere for more details. Israel's Chief Rabbis Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar have sent a letter to all rabbis in the country, calling on the nation's spiritual leaders to teach on the "biblical prohibition" against killing "fetuses in their mothers' wombs."

Although abortions are prohibited by Jewish law "except in extreme circumstances when the mother is in danger of losing her life," there are approximately 50,000 abortions annually. "Obviously the majority of the abortions are unnecessary and forbidden according to the Halacha (Jewish law)," the chief rabbis wrote. "The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is appalled by this horrifying data, indicating that this is a true epidemic…"

As was pointed out in several accounts, the timing of the letter was not a coincidence. This week's reading from the Torah (beginning with Exodus 1: 15) talks about Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives who disregard Pharaoh's order to kill all male Hebrew babies.

Following a meeting to discuss abortion held three years ago by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, a special committee was established to investigate the "epidemic." Since then the chief rabbis have sent out a letter to all rabbis instructing them to "bring up the Exodus Torah reading during their sermon on Saturday regarding the biblical prohibition" against killing "fetuses in their mothers' wombs."

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